India posted a mammoth 301 for 6 before bowling out Papua New Guinea for just 56 to register a crushing victory

PTI

Sharjah: Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav stole the limelight with individual brilliance as a strong India continued their unbeaten run with a crushing 245-run win over minnows Papua New Guinea in the Under-19 World Cup on Wednesday.

Opting to bat in their last league match, the defending champions posted a mammoth 301 for six, before bowling out their hapless opponents for just 56 in 28.2 overs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

The convincing win ensured India topped the group. Samson, who plays for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), led the way with a blistering 85 off 48 balls, smashing eight fours and four sixes during his stay at the crease.

Defending a big total on what did not seem like the best of batting surfaces, left-arm spinner Yadav, who is registered with Mumbai Indians, returned impressive figures of 4/10 in 8.2 overs.

The Indians were off to a sedate start with openers Ankush Bains (59) and Akhil Herwadkar (37) sharing 58 runs in just under 12 overs.

Skipper Vijay Zol contributed 35 off 68 balls, but the momentum that the holders were looking for came only after the arrival of Samson at the crease.

Samson found an able ally in Shreyas Iyer, who scored 36 off 38 balls during a fourth-wicket stand of 116 runs that came off just 12.4 overs. He found the fence three times during the crucial partnership and by the time he fell to Alei Nao, he had already done his job, leaving his side at a comfortable 255 for 4 in the 46th over.

Sarfaraz Khan consolidated towrads the end, smashing his way to a brisk 34 off only 19 balls with the help of three fours and a six. Sarfaraz’s knock only made it worse for the minnows.

Nao was the best bowler for PNG, returning figures of three for 46 from his 10 overs.

When their turn to bat came, Papua New Guinea proved to be no match to their formidable Indian bowling unit, led admirably by Yadav and right-arm medium pacer Monu Kumar, who picked up 3/13 in six overs. Bowling off-spin, Deepak Hooda took 2/5 in five overs.

Barring opener Riley Hekure (20) and middle-order batsman Hiri Hiri (13), the only two batsmen to have crossed the double figures, it tuned out to be a disastrous outing for PNG.

One asylum seeker has been killed and 77 injured during a second night of violence at Australia’s immigration detention centre in Papua New Guinea.

The man died of head injuries on the way to hospital, Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said.

Thirteen people suffered serious injuries, including two who are being transferred to Australia for treatment, one with a gunshot wound.

He said the injuries occurred outside the camp, after the men broke out.

Australia sends asylum seekers arriving by boat for detention and processing in offshore camps in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific territory of Nauru.

Conditions in these camps have been strongly criticised by UN agencies and rights groups.

‘Great risk’

The violence took place late on Monday night.

“This was a very dangerous situation where people decided to protest in a very violent way and to take themselves outside the centre and place themselves at great risk,” Mr Morrison said.

Security outside the centre in Manus Island was the domain of the PNG police, he said.

“Those who are maintaining the safety of environment outside the centre need to use their powers and various accoutrements that they have available to them to restore order in the way that is provided for under PNG law,” he said.

Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Action Coalition, however, said detainees at Manus Island had told him that locals and PNG police entered the camp and attacked them, after a day of tensions.

“All the people that we have talked to, whether they are workers on the island or whether it’s the detainees themselves, say they were attacked,” he told the BBC.

Mr Morrison, the immigration minister, said he had been told that “PNG police did not enter the centre and that their activities related only to dealing with transferees who breached the external perimeter”.

He urged people to treat “unsubstantiated reports that are put in the public domain” with caution, but said he could not confirm how the various injuries were incurred.

He called the death of the asylum seeker “a great tragedy”.

“We don’t know what occurred outside the centre and that obviously will be the subject of an investigation into that person’s death,” he said.

But he said the violence took place in PNG and that any inquiry would take place under PNG law conducted by local authorities.

The violence comes after some of the detainees briefly escaped from the detention centre on Sunday.

‘Must be closed’

In recent months Australia has taken a very tough stance in a bid to halt the flow of asylum seekers, who arrive by boat via Indonesia.

There are around 1,300 asylum seekers housed on Manus Island

Manus Island is one of two offshore processing camps in which asylum seekers are detained.

Australia has also initiated a policy – aimed as a deterrent – whereby those people found to be genuine refugees will be settled in Papua New Guinea rather than Australia.

Sunday’s break-out is reported to have taken place after detainees were told that they would not be resettled in Australia.

Rights groups argue that prolonged detention in cramped, over-heated conditions, compounded by a lack of clarity over when asylum claims will be assessed and where the applicant might end up, can lead to mental health issues in detainees.

Papua New Guinea took a commanding position atop Group B after a thumping nine-wicket win over Uganda in New Plymouth on Thursday. Uganda got off to a serene start against opening bowlers Willie Gavera and Raymond Haoda, reaching 53 for 0 after PNG captain Chris Amini won the toss and elected to field first. The match shifted dramatically in PNG’s favour when Amini brought on younger brother Charles Amini. The 21-year-old legspinner proceeded to dismiss Uganda’s top five and eventually finished with career best figures of 6 for 19 in 10 overs as Uganda lost 10 for 52 to be all out for 105 in 35.5 overs.

Tony Ura’s dismissal for 4 in the second over was the only hiccup in PNG’s chase. Lega Siaka (65*) and Assad Vala (37*) put on an unbeaten 98-run partnership for the second wicket to achieve victory with 33 overs to spare, giving their side a massive net run rate boost to +2.427 to go with an unblemished 2-0 record. At 0-2 and with a severe hit to their net run rate, which stands at -2.985, Uganda’s chances of finishing in the top three of Group B to be able to advance to the Super Sixes are hanging by a thread.

United Arab Emirates beat the Netherlands by 10 runs to qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 2014

International Cricket Council

Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets off the final ball to clinch qualification for the ICC World Twenty20 2014 while wins for Papua New Guinea and Scotland kept their chances alive.

In the afternoon match, United Arab Emirates beat the Netherlands by 10 runs to also qualify.

Nepal and UAE join Afghanistan and Ireland in making it through from the ICC World Twenty20 2014 Qualifier, and they progress to the semi-finals of this tournament.

Hong Kong, who just failed to defend a score of 143 for eight, will play Papua New Guinea with the winner also qualifying. Scotland will meet the Netherlands in their final play-off game.

Batting first, Hong Kong made good progress as Waqas Barkat and Nizakat Khan both made 25, and further runs were added later on by Munir Dar (20), Babar Hyat (10) and Tanwir Afzal (25).

Jitendra Mukhiya took three for 23 and Avinash Khan two for 28.

Nepal openers Subash Khakurel (16) and Sagar Pun (22) got the run chase off to an excellent start and after they were dismissed by Tanwir and Haseeb Amjad respectively, Gyanendra Malla’s 30 in 27 balls and Paras Khadka’s 46 in 39 looked to be setting Nepal on course for the win.

However, Aizaz Khan removed Malla and Khadka was run out to set up a tense finish, made even more so when Binod Bhandari (7) also fell.

Sharad Vesawkar was Nepal’s hero, hitting an unbeaten 13 in seven balls including the winning single from the final ball of the game as he and Pradeep Airee (3 not out) took 13 runs from the final over to win.

While Nepal can look forward to a semi-final and a trip to Bangladesh, Hong Kong will face Papua NewGuinea, who beat Namibia by 25 runs, for another chance to qualify.

Geraint Jones (36), Tony Ura (34) and Jack Vare (30) were in the runs for them as they posted 145 for four as Nicholaas and Bernard Scholtz took two wickets apiece.

Namibia then collapsed to 16 for four and as Pipi Raho took three for 10 with Willie Gavera, John Reva and Christopher Amini taking two apiece, Namibia were bowled out in 18.1 overs.

Scotland proved far too strong for Italy in their seven-wicket win.

Andy Northcote top scored with 46 not out as Italy posted 125 for eight, their innings stuttering as Neil Carter and Safyaan Sharif grabbed a brace of wickets.

Scotland’s opening pair Richie Berrington (52) and Calum MacLeod (56) then put them on course for victory with a 112-run stand and although Italy picked up three wickets in quick succession, they came too late to stop Scotland cruising home in 17.3 overs.

It was a much closer game between hosts UAE and the Netherlands.

Khurram Khan made 32, Mohammad Shafiq 25 and Asim Kurshad 17 as the UAE posted 117 for eight; their bowlers then delivered a superb performance to hold the Dutch to just 107 for nine to clinch a 10-run win.

Ahsan Malik had earlier taken four for 17 for the Netherlands but their batsmen were unable to overhaul a relatively modest total.

They started poorly by losing openers Stephan Myburgh and Michael Swart for six and one respectively and never recovered.

Wesley Barresi went for 11 and although Eric Szwarczynski made 23, Ben Cooper 20 and Michael Rippon 19, they fell short, Nasir Ajaz taking three for 21.

Papua New Guinea’s 18-run win over Ireland was the biggest story from the final day of warm-up matches ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 2014 Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates.

PNG, who beat Uganda in their first warm-up yesterday, successfully defended 161 for eight to defeat Ireland while there were also wins for Afghanistan, Bermuda, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland, UAE and USA.

The tournament gets underway with all 16 teams in action on 15th November.

Papua New Guinea have now firmly established themselves as a side to look out for in Group B after their latest win over Ireland.

Four players reached double figures as they posted 161 for eight but that proved enough. Geraint Jones top scored with 39 and Kila Pala made 36 before their bowlers, led by John Reva (3-25) and Norman Vanua (2-27) restricted Ireland to 143 for seven from their 20 overs.

Gary Wilson top scored for Ireland with 36 but by then they were well behind the required run rate and they failed to overcome it.

There is plenty of history between Nepal and USA and on this occasion USA prevailed by five wickets with two balls remaining to write another fascinating chapter.

36 proved to be a popular score as it was Gyenedra Malla’s tally before he was run out and thanks to Sharad Vesawkar’s 26 and Binod Bhandari’s 22, Nepal reached 129 for seven.

USA’s top order gave them a decent start, Steven Taylor (20), Akeem Dodson (19) and Elmore Hutchinson (33) all contributing before Nepal hit back.

Reduced to 96 for five in the 17th over, USA needed a steadying hand and they found it in Timroy Allen, whose unbeaten 32 in 25 balls saw them home in the final over.

Afghanistan bounced back from a disappointing defeat to Canada by outclassing Uganda during a six-wicket win.

Neither side found run-scoring particularly easy; illustrated by the fact that Uganda struggled to 76 for nine and the Afghans lost four wickets in 12.2 overs before completing the formalities.

Mohammad Shahzad then made 22 for Afghanistan, who then lost three wickets for 26 runs before they were steered to victory by Nabi (14 not out) and Gulbadin Naib (25 not out).

Scotland eased to a nine-wicket win over Namibia, reaching their victory target of 117 in 12.2 overs.

Neil Carter took two for 23 to limit the Namibians to 116 for six despite Christi Viljoen hammering 47 in 43 balls. There was also a wicket apiece for Iain Wardlaw, Safyaan Sharif and Rob Taylor.

Although Richie Berrington fell early for five, Scotland were barely troubled in their run chase as Calum MacLeod hit 62 not out in 43 balls and Matt Machan was unbeaten on 43 in 27 deliveries.

The clash of mainland Europe’s best sides – on the evidence of the past two days, in any case – saw Italy make the Netherlands work hard for their six-wicket win.

70 in 52 balls from Damien Crowley, 39 in 31 from Peter Petricola and 16 in 14 balls from Carl Sandri were Italy’s scores of note as they posted 146 for seven.

However, they would come to rue the inability for any others to make a sizeable contribution as they were unable to capitalise on taking two early Dutch wickets.

At 10 for two, the Netherlands had Eric Szwarczynski to thank for seeing them home with an unbeaten 59 in 43 balls. The dismissals of Daan van Bunge (12) and Ben Cooper (14) left them at 67 for four before Szwarczynski was joined by Peter Borren, who thumped 48 not out in 25 balls to emphatically finish the game with more than three overs to spare.

Europe’s other challengers, Denmark, endured another poor outing as they were comprehensively beaten by the United Arab Emirates.

Denmark failed to break triple figures for the second day in a row, closing on 90 for seven as accurate UAE bowling and an improved fielding effort dried up the runs. Kamran Mahmood top scored with just 24 while Amjad Javed deserves credit for his return of three for seven in four overs and Shadeep Silva took two for 21.

Mohammad Azam then hit 30, Saqib Ali 17 not out and Shaiman Anwar 14 to guide UAE to a six-wicket victory in the 13th over.

Another team failing to reach 100 was Hong Kong but although they were dismissed by Kenya for 99, they took the game down to the final over.

Steve Tikolo, enjoying his comeback, took three for 12 and Hiren Varaiya two for 16 as spin proved to be effective against the Hong Kong batsmen, for whom Irfan Ahmed top scored with 23.

From scoring 200 against Denmark to failing to reach 100 against Kenya shows just how unpredictable and entertaining Twenty20 cricket can be – as did the finish to this match.

Kenya started poorly, slipping to 31 for three before Irfan Karim made 37 in as many balls to move them closer to their target. When he fell in the 18th over they were 81 for six and in need of some boundaries, which eventually came, from the bats of Thomas Odoyo (15 not out) and Nehemiah Odhiambo (8 not out).

Needing six to win from the final over, Rakep Patel was dismissed by Moner Ahmed only for Odhiambo to seal a three-wicket success with two fours in three balls, the win coming with one ball remaining.

There was high drama in the game between Bermuda and Canada where the former clinched a three-wicket win as the final over went for 19 runs.

Kwame Tucker (10 not out in eight balls) and Kamau Leverock (6 not out in two) were the Bermudan heroes as they successfully chased down 186 to win.

Thanks to Hiral Patel’s 64 in 50 balls and Ashish Bagai’s 47 in 30, Canada were looking good at the halfway stage and were in a strong position throughout much of the second innings.

However, thanks to Dion Stovell making 55 and Janeiro Tucker 42 in 20 balls, Bermuda kept themselves in with a chance, and despite the odds being very much against them at the end, they managed to take it.

The second set of warm-up games ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 2014 Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates ended with wins for Canada, Hong Kong, Kenya and Papua New Guinea.

Canada overturned Afghanistan to claim an impressive seven-wicket win, Hong Kong thrashed Denmark by 140 runs, Kenya beat Namibia by 37 runs and Papua New Guinea were too strong for Uganda, running out the victors by six wickets.

When the tournament gets underway in three days time, Afghanistan will be bidding to reach their third straight ICC World Twenty20 Finals, but they will have been rocked by losing to Canada, who have never qualified.

They started poorly, losing wickets to Harvir Baidwan, Raza Rehman, Henry Osinde and Junaid Siddiqui and it needed 48 not out in 33 balls from Najibullah Zadran to partially make up for the shortcomings of the top order and get the Afghans up to 128 for five.

That is the sort of score that you need to be on top of your game to defend, and although Afghanistan pushed Canada all the way, they were not able to deliver the required performance in the field.

Ruvindu Gunasekara hit 39 in 44 balls and Ashish Bagai 53 not out in 45 to ensure Canada reached their target with three balls to spare.

The day’s most one-sided fixture was Hong Kong‘s demolition of Denmark. They put together a superb batting effort to make 200 for six and then faced with a daunting target, Denmark collapsed to be all out for just 60.

Irfan Ahmed (45), Nizakat Khan (40) and Babar Hayat (69 not out in 37 balls) were the batting heroes for Hong Kong and after Denmark’s openers were both run out, Aizaz Khan picked up figures of three for two and Nizakat two for six to complete a fine all-round day for himself.

Top scorers for the struggling Danes were Aftab Ahmed and Hamid Shah, who both made 16.

Kenya prepared for this tournament by heading to Sri Lanka, and although they only won one game out of the seven that were played, they started strongly here with a 37-run success over fellow African challengers Namibia.

It was another story of the lower order helping out the top order as Kenya slumped to 64 for four as Bernard Scholtz took three for 14.

Namibia’s progress was checked by Thomas Odoyo, who hit 42 in 31 balls and Rakep Patel, who fell to the last ball of the innings of 160 for five having made 52 in just 27 deliveries.

Namibia then collapsed to 15 for three and never really recovered. A good opening burst from Nehemiah Odhiambo (2-11) put Kenya in the ascendency and with Elijah Otieno (2-11) and Shem Ngoche (3-12) also in good form, Namibia found themselves quickly out of the game.

Sarel Burger made 30 in as many balls and JP Kotze smashed 27 in 15 balls but their efforts proved to be in vain as they were bowled out for 123 in 18.3 overs.

Papua New Guinea‘s bowlers set up their comprehensive seven-wicket win over Uganda. Charles and Christopher Amini took two wickets apiece Mahuru Dai one as Uganda were restricted to just 114 for five in their 20 overs.

They were 53 for five before Almuzahim Saleh added a touch of respectability to their score with 42 not out in 41 balls.

Assad Vala made 24 at the top of the order for PNG before former Ashes-winning wicket-keeper Geraint Jones showed his experience with 38 in 39 balls.

Nevertheless, at 93 for four, the game was briefly back in the balance before Charles Amini and Dai combined as effectively with the bat as they had with the ball to see PNG home – both men unbeaten on 17.

Papua New Guinea have made it four wins out of four after two more victories on day two of the Asia-Pacific Rising Stars Trophy in Brisbane.

An innings of 52 off 42 balls by opening batsman Assad Vala helped them beat the Australian Indigenous Development side, who scored 110 for eight from their 20 overs.

PNG made a slow start to their run chase before Vala took control, eventually winning the match and reaching his half-century with a huge six over long-off.

“I had a good game today and was happy with how I batted,” he said afterwards. “We had not batted or bowled too well in this tournament and we had a good chat during the break today to try to correct what went wrong our previous three games.

“We’ve been trying to hit too many boundaries so we tried to concentrate on working more singles in this game, rotate the strike and build partnerships.”

Ben Abbatangelo, captain of the Australian Indigenous Development team was full of praise for the PNG side.

“Their clean-hitting and their fielding is just first-class,” he said. “The way they play together as a team and the way they enjoy each other’s company is impressive.”

Earlier, the Australian Indigenous Development team reached 147 for eight against East Asia-Pacific, who were then bowled out for 106 in reply.

PNG then defeated the Australian Combined Servies in the other morning match.

The Combined Services could make just 98, Martin Blackman hitting 31, but in reply, PNG raced to victory in 17.1 overs for a seven-wicket win.

It was not a good day for the Combined Services, who lost by19 runs in the afternoon to EAP.

EAP made 116 for nine batting first, captain Andrew Mansale making 28 and although the Combined Services team started well enough, they were dismissed for 95.

After four games each, PNG sit comfortable atop the table with 8 points. The Australian Indigenous Development team and EAP are both on 4 points, with the former ahead on net run-rate. The Australian Combined Services are yet to register a win.

The tournament resumes with the final two games of round robin play on Friday.

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